Between Embers (Lost Kings MC #5.5): A Companion to White Heat: Three Short Stories

by Autumn Jones Lake

“Fine. You want me to quit my job?”

  Shit, do I? It seems unfair. I probably get hit on more often working at the legislature than he does in a strip club.

  “No. That’s not fair. Either I trust you or I don’t.”

  He turns then, surprise written all over his face. Guess he didn’t expect that answer.

  “You want me to move out of the clubhouse?”

  “Don’t you have to live here?”

  “No. Some of the guys live off-campus,” he says with a smirk, as if I’d spoken my frat-house comment out loud last night.

  “But you’re happy here.”

  He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t have to. I saw with my own eyes last night how at ease he is here. How much he likes being around the guys he considers his family.

  “If anyone should move, it’s me. You’re here. My job’s down in Empire…the commute—”

  “I come before your job. That’s a start,” he says dryly.

  There’s a lot of noise, shouting and banging around in the hallway. Nothing alarming. Just the guys waking up and being guys. Z grinds his teeth as if it’s bad timing, but I stop him with a hand on his shoulder.

  “In the past, I’ve had interest from rental agencies…to rent my house out in the summers because it’s so close to the lake. I could…I could rent an apartment closer to you.” My heart’s thumping so hard I barely get the words out.

  He flicks his gaze my way and a brief smile touches his lips. “We can talk more about this later.”

  A breath of relief leaves me. Z’s sensitive to my mood. He realizes how hard this is for me and he’s giving me space.

  “Let’s go down for breakfast. I bet the happy couple will be over soon.”

  “Oh, good. I’d like to see Hope before I leave.”

  His mouth twists.

  “How long do you want me to stick around?”

  “I probably shouldn’t answer that.” He throws the covers off and in a fluid, sexy motion, pushes himself over top of me, caging me in with his thick, muscled arms. Not even a tremor from holding himself up over me. He dips down and kisses my forehead before moving off the bed.

  “You’re awfully graceful for such a big guy.”

  He smirks at me.

  “Shit. My bag is down in Trinity’s room. I don’t have anything to wear besides my bridesmaid dress.”

  He doesn’t tease me or hesitate. “I’ll go grab it for you.”

  Maybe he’s good for me after all.

  I got further than I ever expected to with Lilly today. I’m not stupid, though. Sensing it was time to back off, I did. Her mind’s turning, working it out in her head. That’s enough for now.

  Opening the door to run downstairs and grab her stuff, I almost trip over the bags in front of my door. I pick them up and turn to Lilly. “Yours?”

  She lets out a soft laugh and nods.

  Fifteen minutes later, we’re headed into the dining room hand in hand. Trinity’s at the usual table flipping through a big pink binder. “Christ, Trin, the wedding’s over. Put that thing away.”

  Startled, she glances up and slams the binder closed, sliding it under her chair. “Morning.”

  “Where’s your other half?” I ask as we approach the table. Lilly lets me pull a chair out for her and she even sits in it without a single comment.

  Trinity points to the doorway, and I turn to see Wrath trying to sneak up on me. “Not today, fucker,” I holler, dropping into the chair next to Lilly before he bear hugs me or whatever the fuck else he was planning to do.

  He’s wearing the same shit-eating grin he had on earlier. “What’s up, brother?”

  He falls into the chair next to Trinity and flings an arm around her shoulders. “I’ll tell you in a few.”

  Now I’m really curious. But he turns his head, nuzzling against Trinity’s shoulder and whispering something in her ear that makes her laugh.

  After a few minutes she glances around the dining room. “I’ll go check on the girls—”

  Wrath clamps his hand over her leg, keeping her in place. “Not today,” he says, just loud enough for me to hear it.

  Lilly catches my eye and I shrug.

  Murphy and Teller join us next. Teller looks worn out while, Murphy, I’m not sure what’s going on with him. His knuckles on his right hand are scraped up, though. “Get into it last night, little brother?”

  For some reason, he and Trinity share a look. “I’ll tell you later.”

  “What the fuck is everyone so secretive for this morning?” I grouch.

  Teller bursts out laughing. “Probably waiting for Mom and Dad to get here.”

  Wrath rolls his eyes. “Christ, they’ll both kill you if they hear that.”

  Lilly shakes against me. “Mom and Dad?”

  Murphy makes a circular motion with his hand, indicating everyone at the table. “Rock is the dad—”

  “No, no, I get it.” Lilly laughs even harder. “No wonder Hope doesn’t want kids. She already has a house full of them.”

  Trinity laughs with her. “Exactly.”

  Serena and Mariella burst out of the kitchen with mugs and pour coffee for everyone. Lilly gives me a curious look but doesn’t say anything.

  “Hey, newlyweds!” Murphy shouts, making all of us turn our heads. Rock sort of glares at each of us and tries to tug Hope back out the door.

  “How was the wedding night?” Wrath yells.

  I can’t resist messing with them either. “Was it worth saving yourself for?” I ask.

  Prez rolls his eyes and glances at Hope. “I told you we should have eaten breakfast at home.”

  She shushes him and they take their seats. Hope’s a sharp girl. She looks around the table, taking each of us in. She smiles briefly when she notices Lilly’s still here. But her gaze goes back to Wrath and Trinity who have matching grins stretched across their faces.

  “What’s up with you two?” she asks.

  Right before she says it, I catch Wrath’s eye and he looks so fuckin’ happy I know exactly what Trinity’s about to say. “We’re engaged!”

  The girls shriek and Hope races over to see the ring. Lilly joins them and they chatter away. I stand, reaching over to give Wrath a quick hug and back slap. “Congratulations, brother.”

  I could make some ball and chain joke, but I’m too happy for the both of them.

  “I am not going to any dress shops,” Murphy informs all of us. Yeah, that had been fun. For Wrath and me, not Murphy. I eye Wrath because we need to make Murphy do that again, but he’s too busy staring at his bride-to-be.

  Then they’re busy making out and making everyone want to hurl. Lilly grins at me and leans over to kiss my cheek. “They’re sweet together,” she whispers.

  “He’d do anything for her.” I want her to understand, if she let me, I’d be just as devoted to her. I just can’t come up with the right words.

  Instead, I tease Rock and Hope about all the boring, married sex they’ll be having. Teller rats me out for the time or two I said Hope was dick-whipped.

  Murphy finally explains why his knuckles are so raw. “I knocked Bull’s ass out last night.”

  I’m sure Bull had that punch coming. Fuck, I wanted to punch him myself last night a few times. Lilly looks a little disgusted, so I shrug. This is who we are. If I want to get serious with her, she might as well hear it all, good and bad.

  Serena and Mariella bring out a platter of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast, which we all demolish.

  Wrath informs us he’s planning to build a house next. I catch Lilly’s eye. See? I wouldn’t expect you to live at the clubhouse, I want to tell her.

  Hope teases us, claiming she got a tattoo that Rock absolutely will not allow her to show us. Lilly leans in. “It must be true love. She always swore she’d never get a tattoo.”

  “Yeah, what about you?”

  She raises an eyebrow. “I’ve never had something I wanted on my body permanently.”

  “I wanna be on your body perm
anently,” I growl in her ear. She shivers and turns to catch my mouth in a quick kiss.

  “For fuck’s sake. Y’all need to get a room!” Dex shouts. He’s not yelling at me specifically. Rock and Hope barely glance up at Dex’s bitching. Wrath throws his middle finger up without taking his mouth off Trinity.

  “Thank fuck,” Teller groans, pulling out a chair for Dex. “I’m about to lose my breakfast.”

  Mariella pokes him in the side, and he grins at her.

  Murphy’s sitting next to Serena looking like he’s choking on a piece of bark. “You okay, lil’ brother?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Did Heidi come back last night?” Hope asks Teller who groans.

  “No. She called me when he dropped her off, though.” He glances over at the bar at the few people snoring on top of it. “Too much going on here last night, you know?”

  She laughs. “I see your point.”

  Rock claps his hands once to get our attention. “Church. Then my bride and I are going to pack for Hawaii.”

  “Are you letting her bring clothes, Rock?” Trinity asks, bursting into giggles.

  Rock’s mouth twists into a wicked smirk, but he doesn’t answer.

  “Thanks, Trin,” Hope mutters. She’s laughing too, though.

  Rock glances at me but before he says anything, Murphy stands. “I’m gonna walk Serena out and then I’ll round the guys up for church.”

  I think it’s news to Serena that she’s leaving.

  “Thanks for all your help, Serena,” Mariella calls out.

  Serena nods and follows Murphy.

  After they clear the dining room, Trinity jumps up. “While you guys are in church, I am helping Mariella clean up,” she says with a pointed look at Wrath, who rolls his eyes. Hope joins her before Rock can say no.

  “I feel like I should help now too,” Lilly jokes.

  I lean into her. “We won’t be long. Will you still be here?”

  She turns and presses a quick kiss to my lips. Her fingers trail over my cheek and she looks into my eyes. “I’ll stick around.”

  * * *

  MORE THAN MILES EXCERPT

  * * *

  WHEN I TOLD Heidi I was working at Wrath’s gym, I just wanted her to know I was doing something else with my time other than babysitting strippers. Especially after I realized how deeply my involvement with the club girls and dancers bothered her. I never expected her to show up for a visit.

  I’m crazy-happy to see her though. Can barely keep the grin off my face. Twitch eyeing her like a safe he wanted to crack pissed me the fuck off. Need to keep an eye on that kid. I don’t trust him as much as Wrath does.

  One of Trinity’s additions to the gym was a couple of picnic benches out back, so on days like today, we could spend time outside. We’re the only ones out here and it’s nice to be alone together.

  “How are your arms today?” she asks.

  I roll up my long sleeves. “Got taken care of by a professional. Bandages are still good.”

  The corners of her mouth quiver. She reaches out and runs her fingers over the gauze. “You should probably change these tonight.”

  “Wanna come supervise?”

  “If you need me to.”

  She flicks her gaze up and catches me staring at her. Something’s been bothering me since she stopped in. “You okay? You look tired. Hittin’ the books hard?”

  Her lips curve into a slight smirk. “Thanks a lot. Nothing better than hearing I look like shit.”

  “You’re fucking gorgeous. I just worry about you.”

  Her face softens. “Yes. I’ve been studying late.”

  “I’m glad you stopped by.”

  “Really? I wasn’t sure—”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Your bike stands out. It caught my eye.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yup. Are you upset it’s almost time to garage it for the winter?”

  “Hell, yeah. But it’s been pretty warm. You never know. Might be able to ride right up until Christmas.”

  “Always hopeful. That’s good, Blake.” She stares at where our fingers are sort of rubbing up against each other.

  “I was thinking of going on a run. Haven’t taken my bike for a long ride in way too long.”

  She peeks up at me. “By yourself?”

  “Yeah. Unless you want to come with me. You used to beg me to take you all the time when you were little.”

  Her cheeks turn pink. “Yeah. Sorry.”

  “No. It was cute.”

  “You promised me a cross-country trip when I was old enough, remember?”

  “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Yes.” She looks away, sadness turning her mouth down.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I just used to—never mind.”

  “You still want to be my co-pilot?”

  Her surprised eyes meet mine. “Me?”

  “Yeah you. Never had anyone go with me before. On the back of my bike, I mean.” I wait to see if what I’m trying to explain to her sinks in.

  “Oh.” She hesitates and I brace myself for the I’m-with-Axel speech. “I can’t. I have classes. . .” she trails off.

  Encouraged, I tap the back of her hand. “When’s your break?”

  “Not until Thanksgiving. But that’s only like four days. Then winter break, but it’s probably too cold. . . Spring break is a whole week. Can you wait until March?”

  “For you, I’d wait forever, Heidi.” Ain’t that the fucking truth.

  She flashes a weak smile. “Where?”

  “Dunno. Not enough time to do cross-country, but I’ll come up with something.”

  “Cool. You think my brother will bring Mariella?”

  Fuck. Nope. She didn’t get what I was asking at all.

  “I don’t know what’s going on with them.”

  Nervous laughter spills out of her. “They’re cute together, right?”

  “Sure.”

  “But you weren’t talking about a club run, were you?” she asks.

  It must be spelled out all over my face that I was talking about a trip for two. “No.”

  She nods slowly. “I’ll text you the dates when I get my spring schedule.”

  “Okay.” Here’s where I should say something like, “What about your boyfriend?” Except, I don’t want to ruin whatever we just planned together. There’ll be plenty of time to figure out the details later. Right now I want to enjoy making plans with Heidi. Something I’ve been waitin’ to do a long damn time.

  Noises from the front of the building reach us. The busload of kids from Empire High School getting dropped off.

  “Should I let you get back to work?” Heidi asks.

  I hate like fuck to have her leave, but I do need to get back inside and help Wrath. Trying to be a responsible adult sometimes sucks. Worse, I can’t let a brother down when he’s counting on me.

  “Yeah. Wrath has me teaching the afternoon class.”

  She stands. “I can’t picture you teaching.”

  “No?”

  “That’s not true. Actually, I bet you’re pretty good at it.”

  “Thanks.”

  I take her hand and walk her around the building to her car. “Thanks for stopping to see me.”

  “Sure. Maybe next time I’ll bring you lunch or dinner or something?”

  “I’d like that.” Warmth fills my chest as it sinks in that she’s planning to come visit again. I can’t help pulling her in for a hug. She feels so good pressed up against me. But I don’t try sneaking a kiss or anything else. Something shifted, changed for us today, and I don’t want to press my luck.

  I watch her leave, feeling empty as her car disappears. Turning around, I find Wrath standing in the doorway.

  “What’re you doing, Murphy?”

  “I don’t know, brother.” I can’t wipe the grin off my face, though, and he shakes his head.

  He doesn’t step back as I approach but pats my
shoulder. “I hope you don’t end up gettin’ burned.”

  “Me, too.”

  More Than Miles will be available August 16, 2016. You can preorder it here.

  ALSO BY AUTUMN JONES LAKE

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  * * *

  SLOW BURN (Lost Kings MC, Book #1)

  Forced to represent an outlaw biker, a married attorney must come to terms with her feelings for her client while avoiding the danger he brings into her sedate life.

  * * *

  CORRUPTING CINDERELLA (Lost Kings MC, Book #2)

  Love is the ultimate outlaw.

  Although widowed attorney Hope Kendall cares deeply for President of the Lost Kings MC, Rochlan "Rock" North, the truth is they come from completely different worlds. Add to that the fact that they are also both headstrong people, and they have a very rough road ahead of them.

  Real love isn't a fairy tale.

  For Rock, that means introducing Hope to what it really means to be part of his brutal and shady world, where the Lost Kings Motorcycle Club is his main focus. For Hope, it means accepting the things she can't change, and understanding that Rock is a man who will do anything to keep her safe.

  Love doesn't follow any rules.

  As Rock continues to draw Hope deeper into his world, painful misunderstandings, past relationships, and opposition from the members of his club will threaten to drive them apart.

  How do a lawyer and a badass biker with a heart of gold keep their love alive while their opposing worlds collide?

  * * *

  THREE KINGS, ONE NIGHT (Lost Kings MC #2.5)

  A collection of three short holiday stories set in the Lost Kings MC world.

  Heidi and Murphy.

  Wrath and Trinity.

  Z and Lilly.

  * * *

  STRENGTH FROM LOYALTY (Lost Kings MC, Book #3)

  As a dark cloud descends over Hope and Rock’s already precarious future, will a long-hidden secret push them both past the point of no return?